A handsome Technicolor swashbuckler in the familiar Warner Bros style, with Burt Lancaster taking over from Errol Flynn, who was getting too old/debauched for this shit.

Lancaster is a free spirit in 12th century Italy - with frankly resplendent teeth - who starts fighting for the little guy after his son is taken prisoner by the ruthless German tyrant who's married his ex. Virginia Mayo is Lancaster's sassy feminine foil (who spends a fair bit of the film with a chain around her neck, like a kind of sexy dog), Frank Allenby is the hissable aristocratic villain and Robert Douglas has a potentially interesting role as a duplicitous swordsman that he doesn't do a great deal with. The star's regular…

The Adventures of Lancaster! Acrobat of daring feats! Carnivalesque as combat Rabelaisian Revolution!

I’m not particularly familiar with the genre of medieval adventure films outside of the canonical The Adventures of Robin Hood, but this made me curious to explore more. A little tedious for the first hour, though never without wit or amusement. But truly takes up a whole different meaning by the finale, as Tourneur literalizes the Rabelaisian carnivalesque to raise the revolution against the oppressive king. Lancaster stars here with his own former circus performer, Nick Cravat (who plays a mute because he had a thick Brooklyn accent), and the stunts are genuinely exciting. Also a sign I need to dive into more Tourneur, who usually has a heavier presence in the other films I’ve seen of his (even Wichita gets pretty brutal), while this never takes itself seriously.

Before Burt Lancaster became an actor he was an acrobat in circuses. From 19 years old until he had an injury and had to stop in 1939 he would preform circus stunts with his life long friend, Nick Cravat. They would later on act in films together where they would show off their circus stunts. Nick Cravat had such a thick Brooklyn accent that he played a mute in this film and The Crimson Pirate (1952), since his accent would not have fit the period.

And yes it is clear from this film that Lancaster was a great acrobat. He performs most of his own stunts (taken in one long take to show that they are real) and he does…

Really fun adventure pic, first Lancaster-Cravat film I've seen. I yield to noone in my love of Burt, but I hadn't seen one of these films that took advantage of his otherworldly athleticism and trapeze background. Some of the stunts are genuinely jaw-dropping. Script is solid, with surprisingly obvious collectivist overtones for the McCarthy era. An effective crowd-pleaser but even then Tourneur can't help but stage some truly beautiful scenes like a climactic shadowy duel and some gorgeous establishing shots.

A poor man's The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)...okay, a really poor man's Robin Hood. Burt Lancaster (who spent a decade as an acrobat) made this passion project in Italy to showcase the acrobatic talent of himself and some of his old circus-mates. The fit with acrobats and swashbuckling adventure is natural: although Errol Flynn was no acrobat (he was neither a natural athlete or healthy enough to perform feats), the earlier Robin Hood Douglas Fairbanks certainly was. Burt Lancaster is healthy and a decent acrobat, but more powerful than graceful--he is a much bigger man than Fairbanks. He moves well, but tumbling does not carry a film. It is watchable, but not very good.

While Michael Curtiz was directing big, aristocratic swashbucklers for Warner Bros. Their go to guy for B-Movie films, the very underrated Jacques Tourneur was making less is more, with horror films like Cat People and I Walked with a Zombie. But now it was Tourneur's turn to try his hand a big action blockbuster. With Burt Lancaster in the lead role providing his own stunts as Dardo Bartoli, a mountain man living in 19th century Italy. Where a cruel Emperor dubbed The Hawk reigns terror on a small present village. This especially strikes a cord with Dardo since it is his home village, a bit of a womanizer and a wild card, Dardo is still a good man inside, a…

Really fun adventure pic, first Lancaster-Cravat film I've seen. I yield to noone in my love of Burt, but I hadn't seen one of these films that took advantage of his otherworldly athleticism and trapeze background. Some of the stunts are genuinely jaw-dropping. Script is solid, with surprisingly obvious collectivist overtones for the McCarthy era. An effective crowd-pleaser but even then Tourneur can't help but stage some truly beautiful scenes like a climactic shadowy duel and some gorgeous establishing shots.

Before Burt Lancaster became an actor he was an acrobat in circuses. From 19 years old until he had an injury and had to stop in 1939 he would preform circus stunts with his life long friend, Nick Cravat. They would later on act in films together where they would show off their circus stunts. Nick Cravat had such a thick Brooklyn accent that he played a mute in this film and The Crimson Pirate (1952), since his accent would not have fit the period.

And yes it is clear from this film that Lancaster was a great acrobat. He performs most of his own stunts (taken in one long take to show that they are real) and he does…

A poor man's The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)...okay, a really poor man's Robin Hood. Burt Lancaster (who spent a decade as an acrobat) made this passion project in Italy to showcase the acrobatic talent of himself and some of his old circus-mates. The fit with acrobats and swashbuckling adventure is natural: although Errol Flynn was no acrobat (he was neither a natural athlete or healthy enough to perform feats), the earlier Robin Hood Douglas Fairbanks certainly was. Burt Lancaster is healthy and a decent acrobat, but more powerful than graceful--he is a much bigger man than Fairbanks. He moves well, but tumbling does not carry a film. It is watchable, but not very good.

A handsome Technicolor swashbuckler in the familiar Warner Bros style, with Burt Lancaster taking over from Errol Flynn, who was getting too old/debauched for this shit.

Lancaster is a free spirit in 12th century Italy - with frankly resplendent teeth - who starts fighting for the little guy after his son is taken prisoner by the ruthless German tyrant who's married his ex. Virginia Mayo is Lancaster's sassy feminine foil (who spends a fair bit of the film with a chain around her neck, like a kind of sexy dog), Frank Allenby is the hissable aristocratic villain and Robert Douglas has a potentially interesting role as a duplicitous swordsman that he doesn't do a great deal with. The star's regular…

Burt Lancaster is a mountain man and as such he is free to do the things we are not. Like challenge the occupying forces of this one other kingdom. In the ensuing struggle, his kid is kidnapped, so he has to get him back. The whole thing's a lot of rollicking fun, full of those wonderful technicolor shadows, ala Canyon Passage, and elaborate staging. Lancaster's able body is the star, and the film's final moments are fantastic - acrobatic trojan horses, revolution, roujin

A good if somewhat minor Tourneur; not stripped of his touch (all the night-time exteriors, the far too brief “lights out” sword-fight with the Marchese) but not as smooth a transition into a typically “shadow-free” genre as Canyon Passage was with the western, though that likely having something to do with it being primarily made to function as a Burt Lancaster star-vehicle.

The greatest indicator though seems to be the concluding battle scene; for a man known for invisibility and the unknown, those frames are awfully “busy”; clashing swords, barking dogs, bear suits?

The Adventures of Lancaster! Acrobat of daring feats! Carnivalesque as combat Rabelaisian Revolution!

I’m not particularly familiar with the genre of medieval adventure films outside of the canonical The Adventures of Robin Hood, but this made me curious to explore more. A little tedious for the first hour, though never without wit or amusement. But truly takes up a whole different meaning by the finale, as Tourneur literalizes the Rabelaisian carnivalesque to raise the revolution against the oppressive king. Lancaster stars here with his own former circus performer, Nick Cravat (who plays a mute because he had a thick Brooklyn accent), and the stunts are genuinely exciting. Also a sign I need to dive into more Tourneur, who usually has a heavier presence in the other films I’ve seen of his (even Wichita gets pretty brutal), while this never takes itself seriously.